By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterAmerican Idol’s ratings took a turn for the worse and nothing else really stood out either on a lukewarm night for TV watching during the first full week of the May “sweeps.”

Airing in its usual 7 to 9 p.m. slot, the fading Fox singing competition averaged 223,168 D-FW viewers and 56,768 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Both are season-low marks in this viewing area.

Idol was beaten from 8 to 8:30 p.m. in both ratings measurements by ABC’s Modern Family, which had Wednesday’s biggest haul of 18-to-49-year-olds. CBS’ 8 to 9 p.m. hour of Criminal Minds also outdrew Idol across the board.

Idol won the 7 p.m. hour in total viewers while tying CBS’ competing Survivor among 18-to-49-year-olds. NBC’s Law & Order: SVU was the 9 p.m. winner in both ratings barometers.

Here are the four-way local news derby results for the fifth weekday of the May sweeps.

CBS11 nipped Gannett8 for the most total viewers at 10 p.m. but again fell to a distant fourth among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). Fox4 ran a comfortable first in that key measurement.

NBC5 won at 6 a.m. in total viewers while the usual pacesetter, Fox4, fell to a third-place tie with CBS11. Fox4 rebounded by edging Gannett8 for the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds. The other two stations ran close behind.

CBS11 placed first in total viewers at 6 p.m. and tied NBC5 for the 25-to-54-year-old gold. The Peacock and Fox4 shared first place in total viewers at 5 p.m., with NBC5 alone atop the 25-to-54 heap.

She’ll arrive on June 15th from ABC affiliate WFTV-TV of Orlando, FL, where she’s been a general assignments reporter since Oct. 31, 2011.

“I’m thrilled for the opportunity to return to my home state and be part of the unofficial fourth branch of government,” Brown said in a publicity release issued Wednesday. “I look forward to joining the great team of reporters at Fox4, and eating some good Texas-style barbecue.”

Brown’s WFTV bio says she grew up in Austin, where at age 15 it dawned on her that she wanted to be a reporter. She’s a University of Southern California grad who also has worked at TV stations in Memphis, Santa Maria, CA and Torrance, CA.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterThe Dallas Mavericks drew their biggest playoff audience Tuesday night while at the same time drawing their last gasp against the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets’ 103-94 home floor win, airing from 7:11 to 9:51 p.m., ended the first round playoff series in five games.

TNT’s national presentation averaged 209,220 D-FW viewers and 116,691 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old demographic. The homegrown telecast on TXA21 had 146,454 total viewers and 100,922 in the 18-to-49 age range.

Both outlets easily drew more than 50 percent of their audience from the 18-to-49 realm. That’s good news for pro basketball and the Mavericks. In contrast, the Dallas Cowboys dwarf all D-FW sports teams in both the total viewer and 18-to-49 measurement. But the Cowboys seldom draw more than half their viewership from the 18-to-49 demographic.

Cable networks, whether TNT or ESPN, had more Mavericks playoff series viewers in four of the five games, with TXA21 finishing on top for the team’s lone win in Game 4.

Mavs play-by-play announcer Mark Followill has contended in the past that many “casual” basketball fans are unaware that TXA21 is airing the first round games, as the station also did last season. I don’t buy that. But I do think Followill had a very strong announcing game Tuesday night while TNT had the lure of both Marv Albert and the always eventful halftime show with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaq and Kenny Smith. Halftimes are included in the game averages. Then again, TXA21 outdrew TNT for Sunday night’s Game 4 while trailing ESPN for Games 1 and 3. TNT had more viewers than TXA21 for Game 2. OK, enough.

In non-Mavericks prime-time results, NBC’s The Voice and CBS’ NCIS had a rousing slugfest from 7 to 8 p.m. in the total viewers measurement. The Voice barely prevailed by a score 397,518 viewers to 369,622 while as usual winning decisively among 18-to-49-year-olds.

ABC’s Dancing with the Stars 10th anniversary special came up third in total viewers at 7 p.m. with 202,246 but fell to fourth with 18-to-49-year-olds behind The Voice, NCIS and Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results for the fourth weekday of the May ratings “sweeps.”

Gannett8 swept the 10 p.m. competitions in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 as usual ran the table at 6 a.m. while Gannett8 found itself at the opposite end of the ratings teeter totter with a pair of fourth place finishes.

NBC5 entered the winner’s circle with twin wins at 5 p.m. CBS11 chimed in with the most total viewers at 6 p.m., but Fox4 narrowly ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds.

As tweeted Monday by Dombeck herself -- and as retweeted that day by your friendly content provider -- she’s been passed over for a job she very much wanted. “My friends, it is with great disappointment that I tell you CBS is not hiring me for the AM traffic spot. Tomorrow will be my last AM show,” Dombeck said.

As it turned out, there was no tomorrow either. Dombeck thought her last day would be on Tuesday, April 28th. But after an outpouring of support for her on both Twitter and her Facebook page, Dombeck said CBS11 management contacted her attorney and said there’d be no need for her to come in on that day after all. So that’s that.

CBS11 has not officially announced a full-time replacement for Dombeck and declined to comment any further “until there is news on that front.” Staff reporter Elizabeth Dinh will continue filling in for the time being and “we appreciate Tammy filling in for the past few months,” CBS11 director of communications Lori Conrad said via email Monday.

A number of sources, however, say that CBS11 has settled on Chelsey Davis, currently doing traffic reports for CBS affiliate KPHO-TV in Phoenix.

Davis, a former Arizona Cardinals cheerleader and captain of the squad for two years, turned 24 on March 4th and also was in North Texas early that month, according to her Facebook page. Davis, who has been with KPHO since July 2013, also bills herself as a “freelance emcee” who graduated in May 2013 from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

(CBS11 officially confirmed Davis’ hiring on Friday, May 1st. She is scheduled to start on June 8th.)

Dombeck, 42, began filling in periodically at CBS11 in March of 2013 before getting appreciably more air time after Drolen left. The station’s early morning team is still a work in progress, with former longtime P.M. co-anchor Karen Borta and meteorologist Scott Padgett the only current “permanent” members.

CBS11 investigative reporter Jason Allen, the early morning interim co-anchor since Brendan Higgins was dropped in August of last year, will give way on June 1st to newcomer Russ McCaskey from Tulsa, OK’s KJRH-TV. The date of the new traffic anchor’s arrival is still unknown.

During all of this shuffling, CBS11 has become highly competitive with Gannett8 in the battle for third-place among 25-to-54-year-old viewers (main advertiser target audience for news programming). CBS11 has never finished higher than fourth from 6 to 7 a.m. in this key demographic. But the two stations are in another pitched battle at the outset of the May “sweeps” ratings period (which began on Thurs., April 23rd) after CBS11 fell just short of Gannett8 in the February “sweeps.”

Dombeck, of course, has been a part of this. As have Padgett, Allen and Borta, who in a surprise move joined the early morning crew on Jan. 12th after almost two decades of co-anchoring the 6 and 10 p.m. editions.

Borta may be the straw that stirs the drink, but Dombeck has more Twitter followers than any of her A.M. colleagues in times when local news station executives virtually order their anchors and reporters to be productive “Social Media” citizens or face the consequences. At last count, Dombeck has 10,800 Twitter Followers. Borta has 7,116, Padgett has 2,836 and Allen has 2,457.

Dombeck’s much younger and supposedly friskier replacement has a long way to go to catch the older gal. She currently has 1,634 Followers. Even Drolen, who benefited from CBS11’s heavy “Rollin’ with Drolen” promotional campaign, still trails Dombeck with 10,100 Followers.

So what are Dombeck’s future prospects in the D-FW television market?

Never officially hired by CBS11, she doesn’t have to deal with a 6-month “non-compete” clause that is keeping former longtime sports anchor Babe Laufenberg off the air until at least July. That’s a plus for her. But any possibilities as a full-time weekday traffic reporter probably come down to just one station.

Fox4 has the very capable and personable Chip Waggoner in place for its No. 1-rated Good Day program. Despite his lack of curvature, there’s no need to make a change. And NBC5 is not about to hire her again after dropping Dombeck in 2012 following 12 years as the station’s “Gridlock Buster.”

That leaves Gannett8, which is taking a beating in the 25-to-54 demographic and appears to have gained little -- and perhaps lost ground -- after making uniformed DeSoto police officer Nick Bristow its full-time early morning traffic reporter last August. All these months later, Bristow is clearly more comfortable on the job but still doesn’t stand in front of traffic maps the way his competitors do. It makes his reports seem remote in comparison. And Bristow isn’t blonde. He’s bald.

Whatever happens, Dombeck has many Social Media sympathizers out there. And CBS11 can only hope that re-shuffling the early morning news deck not once, not twice, but eventually three times this year will not deter the momentum it’s built in recent months with the team of Borta, Allen, Padgett and Dombeck.

That’s because they know The Voice will take charge of prime-time’s first two hours. It did so again in D-FW, drawing a dominating 432,388 viewers from 7 to 9 p.m. while likewise clicking with advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds (154,536).

The Voice also helped NBC’s following Night Shift to win among 18-to-49-year-olds (72,537), even though it took a sharp dip in that key measurement. ABC’s Castle won the 9 p.m. hour in total viewers, though, with 230,142, while CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles ran close behind (223,168).

Fox’s The Following, no doubt in its last season, ended up as prime-time’s lowest achiever among the Big 4 broadcast networks. Airing at 8 p.m., it had 76,714 total viewers and 28,384 in the 18-to-49 demographic. Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then trampolined to respective totals of 146,454 and 59,922 viewers while still running fourth and third in those measurements. In sickness and in health, audience lead-ins still matter.

Here are Monday’s local news derby results for the third weekday of the May “sweeps” ratings period.

Gannett8 ran first at 10 p.m. in total viewers but NBC5 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

The Peacock also flexed in the early evening hours, running the table at 5 p.m., taking the 6 p.m. gold among 25-to-54-year-olds and tying CBS11 for first at that hour in total viewers.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterExtended severe weather coverage, two Dallas Mavericks playoff games and Bruce Jenner’s heavily promoted interview with Diane Sawyer made for an eventful, eclectic menu of weekend TV.

Let’s break it all down for you, beginning with Jenner’s big two-hour reveal on Friday’s 20/20. Airing from 8 to 10 p.m., it averaged 404,492 D-FW viewers and 208,151 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old demographic while competing against the latter portion of the down-to-the-wire Mavs-Rockets playoff game on TXA21 and ESPN.

Mavs-Rockets, which ran from 6:10 to 8:50 p.m., fared well in the 8 to 8:50 p.m. matchup with Jenner. The game had 188,298 total viewers on TXA21 and 181,324 on ESPN for a combined 369,622. That portion of the Jenner interview had 404,492 viewers, the same as its entire two-hour average.

Among 18-to-49-year-olds, Mavs-Rockets had 91,460 viewers apiece on TXA21 and ESPN during the direct competition with Jenner. The combined total of 182,920 viewers is a bit short of the 192,382 for the 8 to 9 p.m. portion of ABC’s Jenner interview.

The Mavericks’ 130-128 loss to Houston otherwise started slowly, averaging 132,506 total viewers for the entire game on homegrown TXA21 and a slightly higher 139,480 for ESPN’s national telecast.

In the 18-to-49 measurement, the entire game averaged 59,922 viewers on TXA21. That again fell short of ESPN’s complete game average of 75,691 viewers in this key demographic.

OK, on to Sunday, where the Mavericks fought off elimination with an impressive Game 4 home win over Houston.

Airing from 8:17 to 10:56 p.m., Mavs-Rockets averaged 181,324 total viewers on TXA21, outdrawing TNT’s 160,402. Among 18-to-49-year-olds, TXA21 averaged 91,460 viewers to TNT’s 81,999. It marked the first time in four playoff games that TXA21 had more viewers than the cable presentations on ESPN or TNT.

But wait, there’s more.

Fox4, NBC5, Gannett8 and CBS11 all went with continuous severe weather coverage opposite the final hour of the Mavs-Rockets game. And they stayed with the storms all the way until 12:45 a.m. One by one, the stations then resumed regular programming between 12:45 and 1 a.m. Network prime-time coverage also was interrupted to varying degrees, but your friendly content provider had the Mavs in view during the 8 to 10 p.m. hours.

Fox4’s regular one-hour 9 p.m. newscast, heavily fortified with weather coverage, averaged a time slot-winning 397,518 total viewers. That was enough to beat the combined Mavs-Rockets audience in that hour.

The Fox4 coverage, at least in late night, was marred by constant National Weather Service audio overrides that muted the station’s weather tandem of Dan Henry and Evan Andrews. At least that’s the way it was for Verizon Fios customers, of which I’m one.

Here are the hour-by-hour total viewer breakdowns for the 10 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. weather coverage.

10 to 11 P.M.

Fox4 -- 237,116CBS11 -- 209,220NBC5 -- 202,246Gannett8 -- 181,324

11 P.M. to Midnight

NBC5/CBS11 -- 160,402 eachFox4 -- 132,506Gannett8 -- 118,558

Midnight to 12:45 A.M.

CBS11 -- 118,558Fox4 -- 111,584NBC5 -- 97,636Gannett8 -- 83,688

Gannett8’s last-place finishes are a gut-punch to the station while CBS11’s all-around strong showing is its most impressive in recent memory. The station’s chief meteorologist, Larry Mowry, appears to be on the rise. Gannett8 and a weather team led by meteorologist Pete Delkus in comparison were tuned out. That never used to happen.

Finally, here are Friday’s four-way local news derby results (on the second weekday of the May “sweeps” ratings period).

Gannett8 rode a dominating Jenner interview to big wins at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and Gannett8 did likewise at 6 p.m. NBC5 had twin wins at 5 p.m.

Rival Gannett8 is countering with a series of fresh spots. Its top temperature-taker, Pete Delkus, has shifted gears and is accentuating how important it is for him to be a seriously reliable port in the storm when the weather hits the fan.

“The trust that I have with our team is exceptional,” he says in one of the ads. “I know they have my back. I know I have theirs.”

It’s something of an image makeover for a guy who’s become perhaps equally known for trading jabs and guffaws with sports anchor Dale Hansen during Gannett8’s 6 and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts. The two also used to be a comedy team in a promo modeled after the ABC series Boston Legal.

Perhaps the station is sensing that many viewers have had enough of this. In another of the new spots, Delkus says he likes to have fun with Hansen but “my demeanor really changes on a severe weather day.” He also assures viewers that he’s “not Saint Delkus” -- as he’s proclaimed on Twitter -- but “just your weather guy.”

Weather is the straw that stirs the drink on all four of D-FW’s major TV news providers. That’s the case whether it’s tinkles from the sky in Palo Pinto county or a bonafide severe weather “event” for the entire viewing area.

The new Delkus spots are effective in a vacuum. But can the station have it both ways? At the moment, the latest image campaign basically says, “Hey, I’m really not the court jester I often play on TV. When push comes to cold front, I’m a trusty nuts-and-bolts weather wonk.”

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterThe four-week May “sweeps,” last big ratings period of the 2014-15 TV season, include a sizable chunk of April this time out.

They began on Thursday, April 23rd, with CBS expectedly getting off the mark first with a new episode of The Big Bang Theory. The juggernaut sitcom ranked No. 1 in prime-time in both total D-FW viewers (460,284) and advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds (163,998).

ABC’s second half-hour of Grey’s Anatomy then won from 7:30 to 8 p.m. with 299,882 total viewers and 129,306 in the 18-to-49 range.

CBS broke back through in total viewers with its 8 p.m. episode of Mom (223,168). But ABC’s Scandal ran first from 8:30 to 9 p.m. in that measurement (202,246 total viewers) while ruling its entire hour among 18-to-49-year-olds (78,845).

Then along came Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast, which opened the sweeps with a doubleheader win -- 188,292 total viewers and 69,384 in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Sweeps eve Wednesday belonged entirely to Fox/Fox4 in the total viewer realm. Fox’s two-hour American Idol ruled from 7 to 9 p.m. with 285,934 viewers before Fox4’s newscast drew a time slot-winning 271,986.

The news likewise topped the 18-to-49-year-old demographic with 85,153 viewers. But the 7 to 9 p.m. hours were a free-for-all, with CBS’ Survivor taking the first half-hour (100,922); Idol regrouping to win from 7:30 to 8 p.m. with the same total; ABC’s Modern Family taking the 8 p.m. top spot (129,306); and CBS’ Criminal Minds winning from 8:30 to 9 p.m. (91,460).

Here the four-way local news derby results.

Wednesday -- The 10 p.m. sweeps eve races were won by Gannett8 in total viewers and NBC5 among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 ran the table as usual at 6 a.m. while the Peacock swept the 5 p.m. competitions. Gannett8 and CBS11 tied for the most total viewers at 6 p.m., but Fox4 was alone on top with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Thursday -- Since this was the first day of the May “sweeps,” let’s do a complete breakdown of where they stand out of the starting gates.

The combined numbers -- 341,726 total viewers and 204,997 in the 18-to-49 age range -- were not enough to beat the top-ranked prime-time broadcast network attraction in the total viewers measurement. That would be NBC’s 7 p.m. edition of The Voice, which had 369,622 viewers. But The Voice fell far short of Mavs-Rockets in the key 18-to-49 demographic, pulling in 100,922 viewers. That’s less than half the two-network total for hoops.

CBS’ CSI: Cyber, in its first test drive on Tuesdays at 9 p.m., ran first among the Big Four broadcast networks with 230,142 total viewers. But Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast was tops among 18-to-49-year-olds with 66,230.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results, with the May “sweeps” ratings period firing up on Thursday, April 23rd.

CBS11 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 reigned with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 did likewise at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. firsts went to CBS11 in total viewers and Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Airing as usual from 7 to 9 p.m., The Voice averaged 341,726 D-FW viewers while ABC’s competing Dancing with the Stars drew 285,934. From 7:30 to 8 p.m., CBS’ Mike & Molly outdrew DWTS with 299,882 viewers and ran close behind that half-hour segment of The Voice (320,804 viewers).

Mike & Molly won its time slot among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds; The Voice ran first from 7 to 7:30 p.m. and 8 to 9 p.m.

CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles took the 9 p.m. hour in both ratings measurements with respective totals of 223,168 and 72,537 viewers.

Fox’s 8 p.m. episode of The Following was the night’s least-watched show among the Big Four broadcast networks with 76,714 total viewers. The low-rung prime-time finisher with 18-to-49-year-olds was Fox4’s local 9 p.m. newscast (31,538 viewers).

Here are Monday’s four-way local news derby results.

Gannett8 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while NBC ran first among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and added a 6 p.m. win in the 25-to-54 measurement. CBS11 drew the most total viewers at 6 p.m.

NBC5 and Gannett8 tied for first place at 5 p.m. in both ratings realms.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterIt’s all about selling the goods and making the talent seem relatable to me and you and a boy named Sue.

CBS11 makes that sale with its new country music-themed spot for chief meteorologist Larry Mowry. Not coincidentally, it debuted on the Friday before the April 19th Academy of Country Music awards ceremony at Jerry’s Palace.

A baritone-voiced twanger accompanied by a giddy up and go drum/guitar combo touts the still boyish-faced Mowry as “the weather expert for all the Lone Star State.” Therefore, “you’ve gotta listen to Larry. You know he’ll get it right.”

For his part, beaming Larry looks like the kind of guy you’d totally trust with a whole fleet of spankin’ new pickup trucks, your first-born daughter and a signed first edition of Lonesome Dove.

That’s his real-life oldest daughter, straightening his tie in the opening shot before he high-fives her. Mowry also can be seen doing a brief steering wheel drum solo; nuzzling a dog; shaking a hand; happily submitting to the inevitable selfie shot with a contented commoner; and huddling in the CBS11 weather center with colleague Jeff Jamison. That’s the one time he’s serious-faced.

Mowry has been with CBS11 since January 2008. That’s long enough to pitch him as a guy who thoroughly knows the territory. Here’s the best-of-show spot on his behalf. Its only cinematic blemish is a very briefly seen pink circle on the back of his head that makes Mowry look just a bit like a sunburned Trappist monk. Happy trails.

The former newspaper man spent most of his highly eventful career at WFAA-TV (Channel 8) after starting at WBAP-TV (now NBC5) in 1959 and spending two years there. Shipp began as a reporter but became best known as WFAA’s longtime news director and later assignments editor. His son, investigative reporter Brett Shipp, continues to work at the station and for a time worked for his dad.

When he made the transition, “I didn’t know about television. But I knew how to chase those ambulances,” Bert said in a mid-1990s interview. “I’d take those ol’ boys (Brett and older brother, Bruce) and throw ‘em in the back seat, and we’d be off. I never dreamed that something would rub off on him.”

Brett, an award-winning reporter for KDFW-TV (Fox4) before he joined forces with his father at WFAA, remembered it being “a candy store for me and my brother to be the sons of a newsman. I can remember nights he would come in the room and say, ‘We’ve got this great fire out in West Dallas. You guys wanna come?’ ‘Yeah!’ we’d say. If there was a good wreck for a good fire going on, we were out the door with him. And it was great.”

Bert’s book, Details At 10: Behind the Headlines of Texas Television History, was published in 2011. Besides his experiences in covering the John F. Kennedy assassination and exclusively interviewing The Beatles, it includes unvarnished passages on news room coverups and the re-arranging of scenes for 10 p.m. newscast consumption. Those were the days -- the early days of filmed coverage and no live shots.

“I took comfort in knowing that I got the pictures even if I had to re-stage the scene a little,” Bert wrote. “I’d often had to do that, always to improve a picture story. Why not? After all, it really did happen that way. Mostly.”

In 1964, he talked his way into the Beatles’ dressing room at the Dallas Convention Center after inadvertently stumbling into it. Bert recalled Ringo Starr greeting him with, “Hey, Tex, what brings you in here?” He later showed Ringo how to properly roll a cigarette.

“Years later, on occasions when I was introduced or given some acclaim, I was never cited for my coverage in Vietnam or Laos or for my work during the assassination, hurricanes or big crime cases,” Bert wrote in his book. “No, I was usually introduced as the reporter who slipped into the Beatles’ dressing room and spent fifteen minutes in the company of the ‘Fab Four,’ who loved to hear Texas talk.”

Rest in peace, Bert Shipp. You lived a life that most of us can only imagine. Here’s a link to my earlier interview with father and son, newsman and newsman.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterSunday night’s mega-50th anniversary edition of the Academy of Country Music awards ceremony had a resounding twang in the D-FW Nielsen ratings.

Originating from Jerry’s Palace and setting an all-time attendance record for an awards ceremony, the bigger-is-better ACMs averaged 732,270 viewers on CBS and 239,689 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

That blew past the previous April’s ACM shebang, which had 411,875 viewers and 153,065 in the 18-to-49 range.

The ACMS also drew a far bigger crowd than the arch rival Country Music Association awards, which long have been seen as the industry’s gold standard. Last November’s CMAs on ABC averaged 488,180 total viewers in D-FW, with 151,382 in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Sunday night’s ACMs, which ran from 7 to 10:30 p.m., included appearances by current Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo and Jason Witten plus Cowboys’ Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. The announced in-house crowd was 70,252.

Many of the ACM winners thanked Jesus Christ for their success. NBC’s biblical epic, A.D. The Bible Continues, made it a doubly big night for JC by drawing the biggest overall crowd opposite the ACMs. A.D. had 167,376 total viewers in the 8 p.m. hour. That was more than twice the audience for any other competing network program.

Let’s move to Saturday night, where the Dallas Mavericks’ loss to Houston in Game 1 of their Round One playoff series was shown on both TXA21 and ESPN. It tipped off at 8:41 p.m. and ended at 11:12 p.m.

TXA21’s homegrown telecast averaged 146,454 total viewers while ESPN edged a little higher with 153,428. The national telecast outdrew TXA21 by a wider margin among 18-to-49-year-olds -- 91,460 viewers to 66,230.

(Mavs play-by-play announced Mark Followill has contended in the past that many local viewers still aren’t aware that TXA21 is televising the team’s first round games, in part because some program listings aren’t updated. Whatever the case, the TXA21 listing was correct in my Verizon Fios programming guide. And TXA21 still has the advantage of being a broadcast outlet with a wider overall audience reach in D-FW.)

On to Friday night, where CBS’ two-hour edition of The Amazing Race led all prime-time programming with 174,350 total viewers. It also was the top draw among 18-to-49-year-olds.

Here are Friday’s local news derby numbers, with the May “sweeps” getting off to an early start this spring with a Thursday, April 23rd launch.

Fox4, NBC5 and Gannett8 tied for the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 won outright with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 had a big day all around, sweeping the 6 a.m. competitions as usual and adding 5 and 6 p.m. wins in the 25-to-54 realm. The station also tied NBC5 for the most total viewers at 5 p.m. while Gannett8 ran first in that measurement at 6 p.m.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterGannett8 meteorologist Julie Bologna is mapping out a new course and has left the Dallas-based station after a three-year stay.

Her last day was Sunday, April 12th. Bologna, best known for her weekend morning weathercasts, says on her Facebook page that “kiddos and a growing real estate business” are her primary reasons.

“So it’s time to step away,” she says. “I’m not saying farewell to TV, just to this position that’s just not working with my busy life. I’m very excited to stay up past 8 p.m. on the weekends and to sleep in past 2 a.m. And to see friends, go on weekend trips, see a concert and spend time with my family.”

Bologna also was the weekday morning meteorologist for D-FW’s CBS11 before leaving in 2008 after four years to rejoin WPXI-TV in her native Pittsburgh. She returned to North Texas in 2011 and interviewed at Fox4 before eventually joining Gannett8.

“I still may come back and fill in if the station (Gannett8) needs me, but I’m looking forward to what the future holds,” Bologna says.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterCBS rode a new episode of The Big Bang Theory to another big win Thursday night before rivals took some pieces of the pie.

Big Bang again ranked as the most-watched TV attraction of the entire day with 390,544 D-FW viewers and 160,844 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

The second half-hour of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy the took over with twin wins while CBS’ The Odd Couple plummeted.

CBS regrouped by winning the 8 p.m. hour in total viewers with Mom and a Big Bang repeat. ABC’s slumping Scandal drooped to second place in both ratings measurements. Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then swept its time slot.

Here are Thursday’s local news derby results.

Gannett8 ran first at 10 p.m. in total viewers while NBC5 led among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 as usual ran the table at 6 a.m., with Gannett8 continuing to fall off the map in the key 25-to-54 demographic. The station again finished fourth while NBC5 and CBS11 tied for second.

NBC5 swept the 5 p.m. competitions. The 6 p.m. golds went to Fox4 in total viewers and Gannett8 among 25-to-54-year-olds.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterCBS11 reporter Stephanie Lucero, who joined the D-FW station in 1997, has “decided to follow my heart and move in a new direction,” she said on her Facebook page Friday.

Lucero, who lately has been working the early morning shift, said she’s “ready to applaud, to advocate for something really special. I don’t have that next dynamic position yet but I’m so very excited about the possibilities!”

She’ll be leaving after two more weeks at CBS11, which hired Lucero after a lengthy tenure at Fox4. Lucero said she’s spent roughly 30 years as a TV journalist.

“It has been a fantastic ride,” Lucero said, emphasizing that she and her family will remain in North Texas.

“Dallas is our home,” she said. The place we love and God has blessed me with two awesome sons and an incredible support group. You know who you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are my rock! No farewells. We are not leaving DFW. Just turning a big page professionally.”

In April of 2007, a then fledgling unclebarky.com posted a piece on the sizable roster of anchors and reporters who previously had worked at rival D-FW stations. Lucero was among the 13 cited.

“You know what my comment is on that? Sounds like an all-star roster to me,” former CBS11 president and general manager Steve Mauldin said at the time.

Eight years later, only former Fox4 reporter Bud Gillett remains at the station.

On Wednesday night, Survivor ran second to Fox’s first hour of American Idol in total D-FW viewers but tied the sing-a-thon for first among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds. CBS’ 8 p.m. entry, Criminal Minds, then beat Idol in total viewers and shared first place with Fox in the 18-to-49 demographic.

At 9 p.m., CBS’ CSI: Cyber took the top spot in total viewers but was nipped among 18-to-49-year-olds by ABC’s Nashville.

Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the Dallas Mavericks’ last regular season game, a home win against Portland, averaged 69,740 total viewers and 28,384 in the 18-to-49 range. For the most part, that put the game in fifth place behind the Big Four broadcast networks. But the Mavs did outdraw NBC’s trio of drama repeats in the 18-to-49 realm.

The Mavs now will take on the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs, starting Saturday. All of the Round 1 games will be carried locally on TXA21 in addition to either ESPN, TNT or possibly NBA TV. (Note to Mavs play-by-play guy Mark Followill: You’re welcome.)

Tuesday’s prime-time Nielsens were swept in total viewers by the CBS crime-time trifecta of NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans and Person of Interest. In the 18-to-49 age range, the winners were NBC’s The Voice, NCIS: New Orleans and NBC’s Chicago Fire.

Here are the Tuesday-Wednesday local news derby results.

Tuesday -- Gannett8 and CBS11 tied for the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Gannett8 ran an outright first with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions while the 6 p.m. races were split between CBS11 in total viewers and Gannett8 in the 25-to-54 measurement.

The 5 p.m. golds went to Gannett8 in total viewers and NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Wednesday -- Gannett8 ran the table at 10 p.m. and Fox4 as usual did likewise at 6 a.m.

Fox4 added 25-to-54 wins at both 5 and 6 p.m. The total viewer laurels at those hours respectively went to NBC5 and Gannett8.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterMasters champ and Dallas native Jordan Spieth out-shot the cast of Avengers: Age of Ultron to put David Letterman atop D-FW’s late night talk show ratings.

It was a rare win for Dave, who usually trails the three-way field. But with Spieth as the second guest Monday night, CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman had 104,610 viewers to beat ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (69,740 viewers each). Kimmel had the Avengers in his arsenal, but to no avail. Fallon was in reruns, but he usually beats Letterman anyway.

Among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, Letterman and Kimmel tied with 28,384 viewers apiece while Fallon had 22,077. As previously posted, CBS also ran up the score on Sunday with its final round of the Spieth-fueled Masters.

In Monday’s prime-time Nielsens, NBC’s The Voice won the 7 to 9 p.m. slot in both total viewers (362,648) and 18-to-49-year-olds (138,767). The 9 p.m. golds went to CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles in total viewers (258,038) and NCIS and NBC’s Night Shift in the 18-to-49 measurement (63,076 viewers each).

The Texas Rangers’ home loss to the Angels on Fox Sports Southwest averaged 118,558 total viewers and 34,692 in the 18-to-49 realm. On TXA21, the Dallas Mavericks’ road loss at Utah (in which mostly reserves played) had respective totals of 55,792 and 22,077 viewers.

Here are Monday’s local news derby results.

Gannett8 and CBS11 tied for the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while Gannett8 was alone on top with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions. The 6 p.m. firsts were split between CBS11 in total viewers and Gannett8 in the 25-to-54 measurement.

At 5 p.m., Gannett8 had the most total viewers and Fox4 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on Twitter Sunday’s final round of the Jordan Spieth-dominated Masters ranked as the weekend’s overall top TV attraction -- and by a long shot, too.

The 21-year-old Dallas native’s big win on golf’s grandest stage ran from 2 to 5:53 p.m. on CBS. It averaged 313,830 D-FW viewers with a peak audience of just over a half-million -- 502,128 viewers -- for the closing minutes.

The climactic Green Jacket ceremony, which aired in the 6 to 6:15 p.m. segment, also scored big with 432,388 viewers.

The Masters was a bit of a bogey, though, among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds. Sunday’s closing round averaged 50,461 viewers in this key demographic, That put it behind three prime-time Fox programs -- Family Guy (78,845 viewers), Fox4’s 9 p.m. local news (66,230) and the 8 p.m. episode of The Last Man On Earth (63,076).

Fox’s 8:30 p.m. episode of Last Man and ABC’s Secrets and Lies tied The Masters in the 18-to-49 range with 50,461 viewers each. And in post-prime time, Gannett 8’s 10 p.m. newscast had a higher 18-to-49 yield (69,384 viewers).

AMC’s Mad Men, now in its final seven-episode arc, continues to be largely ignored in D-FW. The new 9 p.m. episode stumbled in with 34,870 total viewers and 15,769 in the 18-to-49 demographic. Ratings were not immediately available for HBO’s 8 p.m. Season 5 launch of Game of Thrones.

Saturday’s third round of The Masters was the day’s biggest draw in total viewers with 188,298. That easily beat Fox’s prime-time coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway (104,610 viewers). The 9 to 10 p.m. portion of the race also was outdrawn by CBS’ 48 Hours (125,532 viewers).

The Masters likewise beat speed racing among 18-to-49-year-olds, ranking as the day’s No. 1 attraction in this age range.

Friday’s Texas Rangers home opener, which started at mid-afternoon, averaged 90,662 total viewers and 31,538 in the 18-to-49 demographic on Fox Sports Southwest. The day’s top overall prime draw, CBS’ Blue Bloods, had 209,220 total viewers while CBS’ The Amazing Race led among 18-to-49-year-olds with 50,461.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

NBC5 ran first at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. races and added twin wins at 5 p.m.

The 6 p.m. golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds by a slight margin over Gannett8.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterThe Texas Rangers’ 10-1 road rout of Oakland went head-to-head for much of Thursday afternoon with Round 1 of The Masters, in which 21-year-old Dallas Jesuit High School graduate Jordan Spieth blazed to a three-stroke lead.

Rather surprisingly, the Rangers averaged a bigger D-FW crowd, drawing 52,305 viewers to The Masters’ 46,028. Baseball also outdrew pro golf’s premier tournament among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, by a score of 25,230 viewers to 9,146. The Rangers had a peak audience of 92,754 total viewers between 4:45 and 5 p.m. while The Masters topped out at 59,976 viewers between 5 and 5:15 p.m.

Rangers-Oakland began at 2:35 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest and The Masters was shown from 2 to 6:30 p.m. on ESPN. Spieth teed off Thursday at 12:15 p.m., meaning that the majority of his round was carried live. Tiger Woods got started 33 minutes later than Spieth, giving ESPN plenty of high-voltage story lines.

In prime-time Thursday, CBS’ 7 p.m. new episode of The Big Bang Theory easily ranked as the most-watched program in both total viewers (390,544) and 18-to-49-year-olds (173,459).

Wednesday’s top prime-time draws were NBC’s The Voice in total viewers (278,960) and CBS’ Criminal Minds in the 18-to-49 demographic (104,075).

On both Wednesday and Thursday nights, Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast won its time slot across the board against network programming on ABC, CBS and NBC. In each case it overcame lead-in disadvantages from Fox’s 8 to 9 p.m. attractions, American Idol and Backstrom.

Here are Wednesday’s and Thursday’s four-way local news derby results.

Wednesday -- CBS11 drew the most total viewers at 10 p.m. but Fox4 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 won at 6 a.m. in total viewers and tied NBC5 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds.

CBS11 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m. and tied NBC5 for first in that measurement at 5 p.m. The 25-to-54 golds went to Fox4 at 5 p.m. and the Peacock at 6 p.m.

Thursday -- Gannett8 broke through with a 10 p.m. win in total viewers but lost among 25-to-54-year-olds to Fox4.

Fox4 ran the table at both 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. while NBC5 notched twin wins at 5 p.m.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterFormer Gannett8 medical reporter Janet St. James revealed Thursday that she has “invasive breast cancer that has spread to my lymph nodes.”

St. James, who left the station on March 17th after a 19-year career and the last 15 as the D-FW market’s premiere medical correspondent, said she’ll soon have a double mastectomy before determining whether to have radiation or chemotherapy treatment.

In an accompanying video on her Facebook page Thursday, St. James said she had a mammogram in November and “that was clean.”

Diagnosed on Good Friday, St. James has taken a new job as vice president for strategic communications at HCA North Texas. She was scheduled to start on Friday, April 10th. HCA is “standing by me in this time of crisis,” she emphasized.

Her Facebook post is headlined, “I am fierce, strong. But I have breast cancer.”

McCaskey arrives from KJRH-TV in Tulsa, where he has been 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news anchor for the NBC affiliate. He joined the station in fall 2000, according to his KJRH bio. McCaskey previously co-anchored KJRH’s morning and midday newscasts with his wife, Deb.

“Russ is a very skilled journalist with deep Texas roots,” CBS11 vice president of news Mike Garber said in a statement Wednesday. “It’s going to be terrific to have two native North Texans side-by-side on the anchor desk each morning.”

McCaskey will team with Karen Borta, who moved to the early morning shift on Jan. 12th after nearly 20 years as one of CBS11’s featured P.M. anchors. The Plano Senior High School and Texas Christian University grad also has worked for KWTV-TV in Oklahoma City and KXII-TV in Sherman, TX.

“I am thrilled to be coming home,” McCaskey said. “It’s the best possible scenario to be able to do a job you love in a place you love, and as a bonus, be close to family and friends.”

CBS11 investigative reporter Jason Allen has manned the early morning anchor desk since Higgins departure. In a separate memo to CBS11 staffers, Garber said he “would be remiss to not highlight Jason Allen, who accepted a great challenge filing in. Grateful is not nearly enough to describe how we feel about Jason and we all look forward to his future at KTVT.”

Allen will remain in the saddle until McCaskey’s arrival. CBS11 has never been better than fourth in the early morning news race. But since the Borta shift, the station lately has been consistently outdrawing Gannett8 and sometimes NBC5 in the key 25-to-54-year-old demographic, which is the main advertiser target audience for news programming. CBS11 narrowly trailed Gannett8 among 25-to-54-year-olds in the February “sweeps” ratings period.

CBS11 is still using former veteran NBC5 traffic reporter Tammy Dombeck as its principal early morning roads scholar after Whitney Drolen resigned on October 24th. The station has interviewed numerous potential “permanent” replacements without yet deciding whether to retain Dombeck or bring in another new face.

But this was an exception, with NBC controlling prime-time from start to finish with The Voice and Chicago Fire.

The Peacock’s latest two-hour edition of The Voice drew 376,596 D-FW viewers from 7 to 9 p.m. in besting new episodes of NCIS (334,752 viewers) and NCIS: New Orleans (285,934). Chicago Fire then mopped up with 251,064 viewers, outdrawing CBS’ competing Person of Interest and Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast (153,428 viewers apiece).

Among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, The Voice won by larger margins while Chicago Fire beat Fox4’s news and Person of Interest fell to fourth.

Prime-time’s biggest loser, Fox’s second episode of the comedy series Weird Loners, had a sub-paltry 27,896 total viewers and 15,769 in the 18-to-49 demographic. Fox no doubt is already shopping for a suitable coffin before the May “sweeps” ratings period fires up.

Over on ESPN, UConn’s latest NCAA women’s basketball title (a double-digit win over Notre Dame), drew 62,766 total viewers and 22,077 in the 18-to-49 range. The Texas Rangers’ late night 3-1 win at Oakland in their second game of the season had respective totals of 90,662 and 37,846 viewers on Fox Sports Southwest.

In Tuesday’s local news derby results, NBC5 won at 10 p.m. in total viewers but Fox4 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 notched a pair of 5 p.m. wins. The 6 p.m. victors were NBC5 in total viewers and Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds.

News director Carolyn Mungo confirmed Tuesday that Leslie started this week. According to his biography, he spent a few months at Charlotte, NC-based ESPN 730 radio after earlier working for a bit over a year as a sports anchor/reporter at the Fox46 TV station in Charlotte.

Before that, Leslie was based in Massachusetts, spending three years at Springfield’s WGGB-TV and then four months with Boston’s WHDH-TV as a freelance sports guy. He also has done play by play of high school sports for MSG Varsity, owned by the Madison Square Garden Company.

The newcomer primarily will work as a reporter while occasionally filling in as an anchor, as did Riba. Leslie earlier anchored while at WGGB.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on Twitter These D-FW television hires were tweeted from the road last week. But now let’s make them “official” with a more detailed posting on unclebarky.com.

CBS11 has hired Keith Russell to replace Babe Laufenberg as the station’s lead sports anchor. He’s already been in place for a week after starting at the station on Tuesday, March 31st.

Russell last worked at Philadelphia’s WXTF-TV as a weekend sports anchor and host of the Philadelphia Eagles’ pre- and post-game shows. He’s also been on camera at ESPN, CNN, Philly’s WPVI-TV and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. as a news anchor.

“Keith has a terrific ability to bring viewers more than just the x’s and o’s,” CBS11 vice president of news Mike Garber said of Russell, who’s a graduate of Baltimore’s Morgan State University. “His passion for local sports always shines through, whether he’s covering a game, interviewing an athlete or anchoring a sportscast.”

Russell said he looks forward to “bringing fans even closer to the teams, athletes and proud sports traditions that mean so much to them.”

Laufenberg, who had been with CBS11 for 17 years, left the station in mid-January after the two sides couldn’t agree on a new contract. He’s under a standard six-month non-compete clause that will keep him off the air in D-FW until July. He’ll continue to team on Dallas Cowboys radio broadcasts with Brad Sham.

***

Fox4 also is adding to its sports department with the hiring of Crystal Vasquez, who’s scheduled to start on April 20th. A New York-based Fox4 spokesperson says she’ll be strictly an off-camera producer, even though she’s been on-camera at her most recent station.

Vasquez arrives from Amarillo’s KVII-TV, where she’s worked as a weekend sports anchor and weekday reporter since March of last year.

The University of North Texas graduate also spent a month -- in November 2013 -- as a “contributing writer” for the Dallas Mavericks official website.

“I’m humbled and honored to announce I’ve accepted a position at Fox4 in Dallas! I’ll be joining (lead sports anchor) Mike Doocy and their very talented sports team,” Vasquez recently said on her Facebook page. “I appreciate everyone’s support throughout this journey . . . I am beyond blessed and dreams do come true. It’s only up from here.”

***

Those who have been watching D-FW television news for more than a few years might well remember former NBC5 and CBS11 reporter Clif Caldwell, who was dropped by the latter station in January of 2008.

Since then, Caldwell has been trying to make a go of it with his own public relations firm. It also turns out he’s been play-acting as “Miles Richmond, chief executive officer, auto manufacturing.”

A commercial with Caldwell in this role has been airing in Houston. He’s speaking on behalf of Comerica Bank -- and pretty effectively so. The spot on youtube does not carry any disclaimers. Here it is.

By ED BARK@unclebarkycom on TwitterYour friendly content provider zoom-drove from the Midwest very early Monday morning to catch what turned out to be the Badgers’ disheartening 68-63 loss to one-and-done-loaded Duke.

Still, it was a glorious hoops season for UW alums, who will always have that Kentucky win as salve. The NCAA title game turned out to be ratings-rich in D-FW, never known as a rabid basketball venue. Airing on CBS, Wisconsin-Duke averaged 585,816 viewers and 252,304 in the advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-old demographic. That easily made it Monday’s biggest draw, with NBC’s The Voice running second in both ratings measurements -- 362,648 total viewers and 110,383 in the 18-to-49 realm. (Nationally, CBS says it was the most-watched NCAA hoops final since 1997’s Kentucky-Arizona matchup.)

Monday’s late night Texas Rangers season opener at Oakland, a dull 8-0 loss, drew 111,584 total viewers on Fox Sports Southwest. More than half of them -- 59,922 -- were within the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Saturday’s NCCA hoops semi-final games, both on TBS, had smallish numbers in comparison to Monday’s main event. But both still ranked one-two in the day’s Nielsen ratings.

Wisconsin’s win over previously unbeaten Kentucky drew 320,804 total viewers and 119,844 in the 18-to-49 demographic. Duke’s rout of Michigan State had respective hauls of 216,194 and 75,691 viewers.

Let’s move to Easter Sunday, where NBC ran up the biggest prime-time scores with its 8 p.m. premiere of the 12-part A.D. The Bible Continues. It had 278,960 total viewers, smiting ABC’s annual all-night reprise of The Ten Commandments (139,480 viewers). A.D. also rolled with 18-to-49-year-olds, again ranking No. 1 with 88,306 viewers while Ten Commandments averaged 37,846.

Ratings slipped for the Peacock’s 9 p.m. launch of the new drama series American Odyssey. Fox4’s local newscast edged it in total viewers by a score of 181,324 to 174,350. Among 18-to-49-year-olds, Fox4’s news again narrowly prevailed -- 59,922 viewers to 56,768.

Over on AMC, the 9 p.m. startup of Mad Men’s final seven-episode arc had 62,766 total viewers and 37,846 in the 18-to-49 demographic. That’s barely a blip compared to the previous Sunday’s (March 29) season finale of The Walking Dead on AMC. It rolled up 334,752 total viewers and 236,535 in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Last week also brought the Tuesday, March 31st premiere of the Fox comedy series Weird Loners. It was largely left alone in the 8:30 p.m. slot, drawing just 48,818 total viewers and 18,923 in the 18-to-49 age range. In contrast, Fox4’s 9 p.m. news then pole-vaulted to 160,402 total viewers, with 44,153 of them 18-to-49-year-olds.

CBS also launched Part 1 of its biblical The Dovekeepers on Tuesday night. It won its 8 to 10 p.m. slot with 209,220 total viewers but was beaten in the 18-to-49 measurement by Fox’s 8 p.m. episode of New Girl and Fox4’s news.

Wednesday’s Part 2 of Dovekeepers drooped to 111,584 total viewers to run fourth in the 8 to 10 p.m. time frame. It was the same story among 18-to-49-year-olds. Fox’s two-hour American Idol ranked as prime-time’s top attraction in both measurements.

Here are the local news derby results for the March 27th to April 6th weekdays.

Fox4 and CBS11 tied for the top spot in total viewers at 6 p.m. while Fox4 had the 25-to-54 gold to itself. At 5 p.m. Fox4 led in total viewers and NBC5 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Tuesday -- NBC5 ran the table at 10 p.m. with twin wins. Fox4 and Gannett8 shared the 6 a.m. lead in total viewers but Fox4 dominated with 25-to-54-year-olds.

CBS11 broke through with a 6 p.m. win in total viewers while Fox4 called the tune with 25-to-54-year-olds. The 5 p.m. top spots were split between Fox4 in total viewers and NBC5 in the 25-to-54 measurement.

Wednesday -- NBC5 nipped Gannett8 for the 10 p.m. lead in total viewers while Fox4 won by a comfier margin with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 and the Peacock shared first place at 6 a.m. in total viewers, but Fox4 won outright among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 ran the table at 6 p.m.; Gannett8 led in total viewers at 5 p.m. and NBC5 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Thursday -- Gannett8 won at 10 p.m. in total viewers and Fox4 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 swept at 6 a.m. and NBC5 did likewise at 5 p.m. CBS11 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m. while the Peacock crowed in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Friday -- NBC5 rolled at 10 p.m. with twin wins while Fox4 again ran the table at 6 a.m.

CBS11 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m. but Gannett8 took the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds. The 5 p.m. wreaths went to NBC5 in total viewers and Fox4 with 25-to-54-year-olds.